About Muryō
Muryō was born in the volumes of notebooks I have currently residing on the shelves in my office. I needed a way to manage my notes and ideas, a way to catalog and reference all that I was putting to paper, but most importantly I wanted to ensure that I wasn’t inhibited to write freely. So many books and planners require you to follow a strict regiment, I needed to embrace the chaos.
Finding yourself in your writing is a wonderful thing and Muryō strives to help with that. Originally Muryō was going to be a notebook imprinted with the methodology you find now on the Muryō insert. I quickly realized that creating a custom notebook wasn’t in line with the values I was trying to establish in Muryō. I wanted something that could be taught and shared for free, I wanted something that you could print out yourself or buy for at a very low cost, and most importantly I didn’t want to tell you what type of notebook to use.
If you’re anything like me, the decisions you make about the type of notebook you use is deeply personal. The weight, size, texture all need to be right. Whether it’s dot grid, or lined. Whether it lays flat, or is small enough to fit in your pocket. I couldn’t create one single notebook that could do all that, and I refused to try and tell you how to write in it.
Muryō works in drawing pads, notepads, leather-bound notebooks you find at medieval faires, in spiral notebooks, and in Leuchtturms or Moleskines. It’s designed to fit your life, and work for you, not confine you to a set of rules. My name is Jesse Friedman, and I’m the inventor of Muryō.
Jesse Friedman
Founder and Inventor of Muryō
I love ideas, I love that spark, that moment when you realize you might be on to something. I spent my whole life tilting my head at problems, getting a better angle on the issue so I can help solve it. In those moments I usually have a pen in one hand a notebook in the other.
I’ve lead teams and launched products, sold companies, and written books. I have been on stage teaching thousands of people at conferences, and I was a Professor at a University for years. The constant for me across all of that was the need to write down, catalog, and then share my ideas.
That is how Muryō was born. First through my own needs, then revised to be shared with the world.
That was my story, what’s yours? Connect with me and let me know:
Joy Adamonis
Business Operations
Joy runs the show and manages everything that makes the business tick. I’m lucky to have Joy to run the show, but I’m even luckier because Joy is my wife, which also makes Muryō a family business.
“I am a mom, a wife, writer, foodie, yogi, asthmatic runner, mental health advocate, lover of green living, friend, daughter, aunt, friend, traveler, dreamer and so much more.
I love how Muryō works for everyone. I’m not a notetaker, and my journal entries have more drawings and photos than words, but I still keep everything cataloged with Muryō”
— Joy Adamonis